


Blind

by LunaUlric



Category: Final Fantasy XV, Kingsglaive
Genre: Action, Angst, F/M, FFXV, Fluff, Kingsglaive - Freeform, Romance, blind, lunyx, otp: the princess and the glaive, princess-bodyguard AU, ship it hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-21 02:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11347665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaUlric/pseuds/LunaUlric
Summary: A beginning, a middle and an end of how a glaive copes in situations where he can’t rely on his sight. (Base on my princess-bodyguard AU)





	Blind

**Author's Note:**

> This idea started out in one of my chats with [fabulanova-ffxv](http://fabulanova-ffxv.tumblr.com/). I was like “I need to write angst.” and she was like “Yeah, you’ve been writing too much fluff.” And then this idea popped up. Since I feel like I’m out of practice with the angst, I mixed fluff into it lol. Posted it on [my tumblr.](http://luna-ulric.tumblr.com/)

Nyx could only see black.

The cloth fitted around his head nicely that no light was leaking in. Even so, He pulled the knot tighter behind his head for good measure.

He tilted his head side to side, stretching the muscles and bones of his neck. After that, the shoulders moved in circular motion, easing any amount of tension that was left in them. He continued to perform quick stretches for joints and muscle until he reached to the routine where his feet were doing the bouncy steps.

When the bodily preparations finished, he tuned into his other senses.

He felt the hilts of the kukris in his hands - their familiar weight, their balance in his grip. The faint breeze touched his bare skin of his back and torso, reminding him of the window he had left open. The heel of his boot hit the floor and the sound of it echoed across the room, which gave him a sense of how big the training area was as it had always been. He inhaled deeply and picked up a light floral scent which he thought was odd and familiar at the same time.

And then he heard an electronic beep – a signal from a timer to make ready.

He made a stance, bending forward, stretching one of his legs back, holding the kukris in a certain way – one blade pointing upward, the other downward.

He waited.

His ears picked up a faint whoosh behind him. He turned to where he knew it was headed and stabbed with the kukri. He heard the fabric rip and the soft contents being spilled out. He heard it again in a different direction. He whirled to it and slashed the oncoming attacker with the other kukri. Again, fabric ripped and contents spilled to the floor.

More of the same thing converged to him quickly. He moved to dodge and to attack, stabbing and slicing. He kept his feet light and gave the fastest maneuvers he could muster against the horde he couldn’t see. He dug his weapons deep into them, as if he was making sure they would bleed. He kicked when his arms couldn’t reach them. He crouched low when they came too fast and sprung up again to puncture from behind.

And with a spin, he slashed through the remaining ones that surrounded him using both kukris and ended with a stance that had him holding the blades at ready for more.

But he heard the timer’s beep, which meant that his unseen enemies were no more.

He straightened his back as he panted. While sweat flowed from his forehead, he pulled up the blindfold up and saw the fabric sacks hanging by swaying ropes. The sand inside of them bled through the cuts. All fifty of them met their demise under his attacks.

He smirked at his success before he spoke.

“Anything you see that interests you, your highness?”

He didn’t face her yet and waited.

“How did you know I was here?” she voiced.

Putting the kukris back to their holsters, Nyx finally turned and spotted the royal herself at the entrance several paces away from him. Her wavy ponytail bounced as her heels tapped towards him. The ruffles of her blue dress flowed gently from the breeze that came from the open window. The eyes of the same color stayed on him as she got closer, while a slight blush of pink grew on her cheeks. Remembering that he was half naked, he grabbed his shirt from a nearby rack and put it on - for courtesy’s sake.

Then he faced her again with the same smirk as before.

“I’m psychic.” he joked.

A soft giggle came from her. “No wonder you are dubbed ‘the hero’, hero.”

He laughed softly at that. Then he sighed, dropping the mirth. “But of course, if only we glaives had been gifted with that kind of skill.”

The princess tilted her head a bit and one of brows creases slightly. She directed her sights on the flattened backs and the mounds of sand on floor.

“What you did there seemed more like a psychic’s work already.” she praised. “I haven’t seen anyone predict where objects would swing by like you did. Not even the other glaives.”

Hearing from her that she watched the others piqued his curiosity. Since the Kingsglaive Headquarters building was under renovations, the glaives had been given access to train in the Citadel’s combat hall. Even allowed to have full use of it facilities, including the sandbag simulation Nyx had been in.

It had been only a week since they first used the training hall, but he should’ve heard by now from any one of his colleagues that the Oracle Princess was their audience.

He couldn’t help but ask. “You always watched them?”

She shrugged. “Just sometimes. When I happen to pass by on my way to my quarters. Though not for the whole their training.”

The glaive observed the spot where he had found her. The entrance was dimmed. People, even as skilled as the glaives, wouldn’t have detected her presence at certain point unless she made herself known. No wonder they didn’t notice her watching them. Unless, of course, they didn’t feel the need to inform anybody about it.

After that observation, the glaive focused back to the princess.

“What do you think of our moves so far?” he asked.

“Well,” she hummed, touching her chin. “I’m impressed with how you were able to handle certain simulated battles.”

“Maybe they were trying to impress you.” he jested.

Her demure laugh echoed across the hall. “I don’t even think they noticed me watching.”

“You never know.” he shrugged.

“But, so far, I think only one glaive noticed me.”

He stared at her, and at her intelligent eyes that showed what she meant. He could only smile back to that. From the spark in her crystalline irises, he could see that she wanted the mystery solved.

“Seriously, how did you know I was here?”

While his olfactory detected more of the floral scent, he said “It’s that perfume of yours, Princess. It’s hard to miss.”

“Oh.” she realized, showing more interest in her tone. Her eyes moved up to a corner in thought. “I suppose your other senses were at their strength since all concentration was on them. Hearing, touch and even odor. But I doubt you could smell those sandbags.”

“That’s right.” He nodded.” They’re odorless. Had to rely mostly on sound and touch. Took me years to hone just that.”

The princess seemed to just take that information in with her silence. She observed the sandbags again for a little while. He watched her, waiting, seeing the gears in her head moving.

“I wonder if there’s a way to fool someone as good as you.” she muttered.

The glaive didn’t miss the playfulness in her tone. But before he could make a witty remark, she moved closer and took hold of his blindfold. She pulled it down and tightened its knot.

Once again, he only saw black.

The glaive conveyed an expecting smile. Certainly, another silly shenanigan from her was underway. Not many had the privilege to witness this side of her. To the public, she was the disciplined, duty-driven, Oracle Princess. To Nyx, Luna showed to be more than what her birthright and her calling intended. She was also a woman who didn’t like to miss an adventure.

Even an adventure as silly as this.

“Planning to be a sandbag, your highness?” he jokingly pondered.

He didn’t have to imagine she was smirking. He knew she was.

“Yes, my dear glaive.” she teased. “A sand bag that knows that you are ticklish.”

“Death by the tickles. Not the worse way to go.” he chortled.

Nevertheless, he prepared. He hunched his back and bent his knees, tuning in again with his remaining senses.

She had gone quiet, probably removed her heels and opted to go barefoot.

_Smart move, your highness._

And similarly with the sandbags, he waited. Only now, he was certain that this game of anticipation posed a different challenge. He knew now that she had some innate potential to be stealthy. But the skill has yet to be developed. He could still hear the tiny jewels in her dress slightly clinking with each other. Her faint breathing. The occasional soft thud of her soles.

He sensed her every move. 

By the time she had stopped, he had pinpointed where she was and knew that she was about to attack.

He heard her feet shuffle quickly, confirming the spot he guessed. He whirled fast enough and soon felt her crash into him, right on time to keep her hands from delivering the tickles. His arms wrapped around the snickering princess and lifted her full weight. Her joyous laughs escalated into loud echoes across the room. He laughed as well, joining into the fun she had created.

As the laughter died down into stifled giggles, they stopped to a certain position. He gently put her down, his hands found her waist and she leaned against his body. While he still saw the darkness, he felt her breaths brush against his face as well as the warm hand snaking up to his cheek.

This was another side of her that was secret to the public. Nobody knew except for Nyx himself.

Luna was also the woman who had captured his heart. The one who showed affection to the glaive and had let him return it.

“What happened to the tickles?” he simpered.

“Oh that wasn’t really the plan.” she divulged.

He got the hint.

“Ah. Death by a kiss.” Then his voice turned quieter. “You had me fooled, your highness.”

The princess gave one last, gentle laugh before he felt her hand pull him down. Gladly, the glaive let her lead the way to her lips. He felt the softness against his, the tenderness, the heat, the beating of their chests.

He didn’t care that he couldn’t see. All he cared about was the way she fitted perfectly in his arms.

 

* * *

 

 Cracks of gunfire in the distance.

The smell of smoke.

The pain coursing throughout his body.

All of it told Nyx that he was still alive.

While his back laid flat on the ground and his eyes felt a bit too heavy, the glaive uttered a tired groan. The Magitek soldier that exploded moments before was something he hadn’t had time to evade completely. And the blast had caught him, sending partially incapacitated for a while before this.

He was alone in this part of the warzone. The other glaives were somewhere in the other side of town trying to draw a line between the fleeing people and the Imperial forces.

But then, hearing someone shuffle beside him reminded that he wasn’t truly alone. He smelled the floral perfume, felt her fingers on his cheek, heard the alarm in her voice.

“Nyx!” she called, sounding quite exhausted as he was.

The glaive opened his eyes to show her that he was alright, but to his dismay, he hissed as soon as he saw light. He closed his sights immediately and the sting lingered. With gritting teeth, he slowly sat up. He felt her help with the gentle pull of her hands. And while he straightened his back, he attempted to open his eyes again but the pain had kept him from sustaining it even for justa few seconds. In the brief view of the world around him, his vision was blurred.

Too blurred for comfort.

He touched his closed eyes to inspect what damage he had sustained. Again he hissed of the pain as soon as a few of his fingers grazed his eyelids.  

“Don’t!” she warned as her fingers wrapped his wrist. He was about to ask why when she uttered again.

“Your eyes… they’re bleeding.”

Taking in the bad news and realizing that the blast had done him badly after all, the glaive cursed under his breath.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” he heard her say, already sensing her hand moving to his eyes.

The princess had been using her healing for the injured and sick in this town before the MTs suddenly rained on the camp. The duty left her drained at some level. And in spite of that, she made use of the trident when the chaos started.

Recounting how she aided in the struggle made the glaive feel uneasy on what she was about to do.

“You should reserve your strength.” he advised.

But the Tenebraean royal insisted stubbornly. “You need to see.” Her hand still covered his eyes. 

Nyx frowned. He only knew too well how her energy dwindles quickly after using her gifts. Joining the fight earlier already took a toll on her.

Then, there was a low rumbling noise from above. He sensed her move upon its arrival.

“I’m guessing that’s a Nif ship.” he muttered direly. Hearing none of her reply confirmed it. And so, he touched her hand.

“Pray later. We need to hide.”

“But-”

“We don’t have time. They’ll spot us.”

She drew a conceding breath and her hand let go of him. Shortly, he heard fabric rip and he felt it wrap around his head. It covered his impaired eyes gently. The softness of the cloth was enough to tell him that it came from her dress. As she began to secure the cloth, his mind worried of the sound metallic clunks from a distance.

MTs had landed.

 _Great_.

“How many of them?” he asked, while he felt her finishing the knot on the cloth.

It took a moment before she replied “Ten or maybe twelve.”

“Heading for us?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

The glaive ignored the fatigue in his legs and lifted himself up. The princess helped him by the arm. He took his kukris out of the holsters and focused into his other senses. Ears picked up the stomps of metal feet and the mechanical clicks that might have came from the movement of the robots’ limbs. The wind blew and he smelled smoke. Meanwhile, he felt the princess’s grip on his arm tighten.

Being blind for this battle bothered him to the core. Obviously, efficiency would be cut down, but most importantly, no seeing meant no warping. He needed to see the blade to be able to teleport.

He would have to do this nice and slow. It’s all about being on the defensive for survival.

“Find a safe hiding spot, your highness.” he said, as he stood with both blades raised and with feet slightly angled to the side. “When we get our window, lead the way.”

There was a sharp, echoing clink that came from his right to where the princess was standing close. He recognized it as an appearance of a certain weapon.

“I shall help.” she declared.

He wanted to object to her wielding the trident again. He wanted to keep her from spending so much on her already diminished energy. But the glaive knew better than to keep her from fighting. He had no choice but to bank on how she displayed her tenacity in the previous attacks even if she wasn’t practiced for this sort of chaos. Her skills for combat were indeed limited but anyone would be a fool to deem her as a useless damsel.

For sure, Luna would fight with determination – trident or no trident. But, somehow, that fact scared him the most.

“Stand close, your highness. Wait for them to come.” he warned.

Then, he heard them cock their guns.

A split second before the first bullet flew, he willed a shield to appear in their general front position. He heard a sharp clack, which meant that it bounced off the deadly projectile. And without another second to spare, the guns rained - gradually going nearer and nearer. The barrier that protected them sounded with clacks and pings, telling him that the bullets ricocheted. Nyx concentrated on its strength while he anticipated a change of direction for the enemy.

He heard a couple of thuds from a certain distance. Louder than an average robot stride. The princess gasped. And by all that, he knew a few went up into the air

“Which way?” he grunted.

“On both sides!” she warned.

And soon enough, he heard something heavy land on his left. He judged that distance between him and the enemy was safe enough, so he conjured a fireball and blasted the unseen MT with it. An explosion erupted. He shielded himself with his free hand as he felt the heat. For now, he could only afford to trust that the robot didn’t survive. Meanwhile, he sensed the princess move. She grunted sharply as her grip on his arm grew tight again. He heard metal getting pierced - the trident doing its job.

Still, he couldn’t help but fret. “Is it dead?”

“Yes.” she uttered almost breathlessly.

However, there was no time to rest.  A couple of more MTs sounded to have jumped and landed on the same locations as the previous ones. Again, he made use of the fireball and heard the princess make a swift kill with her unique weapon. It went on for another round until something hard pounded on the shield. He heard it crack.

An MT was finally near enough to barrel down an ax. Soon, more would join in the alarming nearness. To retaliate, the glaive threw more fireballs, hoping that each of them land squarely at the MTs that converged.

More explosions happened. But it was too much. He felt the shock of the blasts and he was knocked down. Surely, the princess was too. The glaive lost the concentration that he heard the shield shatter like glass. 

He smelled more of the smoke. He cough as she did.

“Are you alright?” he uttered.

Her grip was still on his arm. He heard her panting a bit. “I’m fine.”

Unfortunately, there were still some mechanical clicks that echoed from the distance.

“How many left?”

“Four.”

He was up on his feet again, slightly shaken but still able. His instinct told him to warp but her quickly reminded that he couldn’t. So with a kukri still in his grip, he stretched out his arm to will back the shield. The MTs fired their guns again.

“Found a safe spot yet?” he checked.

“Maybe, but it’s far down the road.”

No choice but to take that risk. There was no time to wait out in defense against more, because he could already hear another Nif ship approaching in the sky and he could sense the princess growing fatigue on her grip.

So when he heard the robots nearing, he threw a few more fire balls. Another set explosions. He braced with her for the impact of each blasts.

Afterwards, he reached for her. Her hand found his. “Let’s go!” he rushed.

He felt her pull in a direction behind them. He disintegrated the shield and they broke into a sprint. They ran, as fast as they could, without sparing time to check if the remaining MTs survived the blasts or not. As they pushed on, with her guiding him, he tapped onto his earpiece.

“Ulric here. The princess and I need an extraction point.”

There was a haze in the tiny speaker before someone replied. “ _Nyx! Glad to hear you’re alive!”_

It was Libertus.

“No time to celebrate, bud. We need to get out of here now!”

“ _We’re on our way._ ” the fellow Galahdian assured. “ _My squad’s eyeing this Nif ship that landed. We just gotta get rid of these damn MTs_.”

“Extraction point, Libs!” he hurried.

“ _East of town. Right at the edge of the forest.”_

“Alright. Wait for us there.” Then he tapped his ear again to cut off the communication with Libertus.

“Can you see a forest?” he asked the princess.

“I see a tree line ahead of us beyond the safe place.” she panted.

“Change of plans. We need to head there.”

“But it’s several more blocks away. I need to heal your first.”

“No time.” he objected, minding the sounds of engines behind them getting louder.

Their distance from the enemy wasn’t enough. They were too exposed and too slow to ever outrun the Nifs. And, soon enough, he heard another ship hovering above them. The engines blew their heated exhausts, overtaking the running pair. Next, another set of metals collided with pavement to block their path.

The princess stopped running. She pulled him down to a crouched position. His shoulder landed on something solid. They were behind concrete rubble now that was probably big enough to hide them. But he knew the enemy had already spotted them.

Gun fire started once more. Bullets ricocheted on concrete. They stayed low. He waited as he felt her move closer to him, her breath touching his cheek, her grip warm on his arm.

“How many?” he asked.

“Probably the same as before.” she breathed.

He could tell from her voice that she was far too spent to stand with him for a repeat on the struggle.

“Stay here.” he said as he took out his kukris again. “I’ll go finish them off.”

She didn’t let go of him. “No!”

Even so, the princess’ hold was feeble which didn’t help her case. But instead of breaking free, he lingered under her nervous touch.

“It’s okay.” he assured. “It’s just like the sand bags.”

As expected, she denied his reasoning. “This is not a simulation!”

The glaive pulled her close. His gentle hand found the base of her jaw, his thumb brushing the soft skin of her cheek. He tried to smile.

“I’ll be fine. I’m psychic, remember?”

But no laugh came from her. He never really expected it.

And with hesitation, her grip came loose. Nyx came closer and aimed a kiss on her forehead before letting her go.

Then, he shifted, focusing on his senses and stayed crouching behind the rubble. He concentrated onhis hearing, but the gunfire was too noisy to compare distances. He formed a fireball in his hand. He sprung up into the air as fast as he could, threw his arsenal and landed on pavement.

There was an explosion afterwards. Silence came, but it was soon overtaken by the sound of mechanical clicks.

This was his opening

They’re just sandbags, he told himself.

_Time to make them bleed._

He sprung up again and brought up the shield. He heard something set a gun to fire on his left so he faced it that way and charged. Bullets hit his barrier. He pushed forward until it hit the MT itself. He dissolved the shield and spun low, slicing through the blade on something metal. He sensed it staggering back from his assault, so he wasted no time to deliver a stab. Then, his hand grabbed something, which might’ve been an ax or an arm. Then, he pulled close and aimed the blade high. It pierced right through something hard – something vital, he hoped.

Finally, his ear picked up the sound of an armored body dropping on the ground.

He smirked.

The next one he heard charged on him from behind. He sidestepped and plunged the kukri behind it. He grabbed a hold on its armor and pulled the blade free only to drive it down again. When he felt the MT still moving, he brought the blade down a couple of times more until he could hear sparks. Soon, the MT went limp.

He heard a group shuffle to attack him on the distance. He brought the shield back and blasted them with two fireballs for good measure. More movement came from a different direction. Once more He protected himself with the shield before bullets ricocheted on it. And again, he delivered his deadly maneuvers before they could react, stabbing and slicing through armor repeatedly.

He took out another one… And another…. And another.

The glaive always moved on after defeating one, never sticking into one spot, never lingering too long. He was relatively slow and immensely methodical, careful to read every detail that his senses could pick up. He fought down every urge to warp and kept with the pace. Just delivered the hits until his opponents stopped moving.

He slipped from time to time – having bullets graze his skin and the blade of the ax tearing his armor. He was hit on the face at one point. Tasted blood in his mouth. There were times he was kicked down. Close calls. But the glaive always rolled away from their incoming onslaught and countered with vengeance.

After a while, only a few had come to oppose him. At least maybe three, he guessed.

Nyx panted, sweat trickling down on his face. Muscles were sore from the cuts, the bruises and the fatigue. He brought the shield up and they pounded with their ax on it. He heard the barrier crack. He Threw a fireball even if it was a bit too near for comfort.

It exploded. The shield shattered from the blast. He covered himself from the heat.

When he sensed the dust settling, he lumbered up. Adrenalin ate away his energy. He waited as he panted and nursed a sore wound on his shoulder with a hand.

There was silence… until something moved from a distance. He began to hold the kukri tighter but the sound of its approaching stopped him from ever advancing. He recognized the sound of her heels on pavement. He loosened the grip.

But she screamed. “Watch out!”

Suddenly, the glaive heard a mechanical movement near him. He brought his shield up as fast as he could and felt the impact barrel on him on the side – the blade of the ax scratching him.  He was caught unprepared for it and staggered back. The MT was swift for another assault and there was nothing Nyx could do but to conjure up his shield again. The ax pounded on him repeatedly with no room for the glaive to move for a counter.

His position was low and weak. His legs struggle to maintain balance as he held up his hands to concentrate on the shield

Just when he felt his defense about to shatter, his ears detected an echoing sound of a clink

The trident.

_Luna._

In just a second, he heard metal hitting metal. The assault of his attacker stopped. But the mechanical clicks came afterwards. The MT began to fire rounds. The glaive found strength in anger and pushed.

He kicked below, hitting the MT’s legs, before he jumped on it and pounded the robot with stabs. It took a few before her was sure the MT didn’t muster a reaction anymore.

As soon as he finished it off, Nyx hurried to get up. Out of exhaustion, he almost stumbled.

“Princess!” he called, his tired breath overwhelming the tone of his voice.

There was only silence.

His voice grew desperately louder. “Luna!”

Then, something approached. Warm skin held his face. The floral scent was in the air again. But something was wrong.

Her breaths were ragged.

“Are you alright?” the glaive checked.

“I’m fine.”

He knew it was a lie.

His hands found her shoulders to inspect, then his they patted down on her waist and found something wet and sticky. Blood.

His heart panicked. In spite of that, she began to utter words of prayer. To heal him.

“No! Don’t!” he worried, grabbing her hands to keep her from spending more of her energy. Quickly, he crouched and tore a large piece of cloth from his sleeve. With only his touch guiding him, he placed it on the wound which he guessed to be a small bullet hole on her side.

He pressed the cloth on it and heard her inhale sharply.

“Put pressure on it.” he said, since the cloth was too small to wrap around her. While he said it, she was already placing a palm on it. Maybe it was more of a reaction to pain than doing what he told her to do. And as soon he got up, he felt her sway. Nyx pulled her to him and crouched a little to reach down. He push an arm on the back of her legs and lifter her up. He carried her full weight despite his exhaustion.

“Grab on to me.” he said. And she did, lifting herself up a bit, wrapping her free arm around his neck. Her head leaned onto him just below his jaw.

“I need to heal you.” she mumbled weakly.

He hushed her gently. “I’m taking you home first, your highness.”’

After that he began to walk while kept his ears peeled for danger. Fortunately, no rumbling engines of an Imperial ship greeted them. They were safe. For now.

“Which way to the trees?” he asked while they move forward.

It took a while before she spoke again. “Just straight… straight ahead.”

And he trudged on, holding back the plea of his body to rest. He covered as much ground as he could, occasionally bumping onto rubble. He constantly monitored her condition as he advanced. When she shivered from breeze, he held her tighter and hoped that his body was enough to give warmth. He stopped for a bit to turn on the communication in his ear, and then he proceeded move.

“Libs. Status.”

“ _We’re on our way!_ _Where are you?_ ”

“I’m guessing about ten blocks.”

“ _Guessing?-_ ”

“Listen. There’s no time. Get to the road leading up to the tree line. We’re coming but the princess needs medical assistance!”

“ _Which road? There ain’t only one leading to the forest!_ ”

“Just do it, okay!”

And he turned it off. Walking on, he was getting slower and slower as time passed. Her breaths were getting shallower at each step.

“Still applying pressure, princess?” he asked.

There was nothing until she mumbled again. “M… hm.”

He wanted her to talk more so he asked again. “How much further?”

She didn’t answer.

“Princess?”

Her voice crept up. The tone was sapless. “Just… a few more… blocks.”

“Hang in there, okay?” he urged. “They’re coming soon.”

Nyx didn’t pray much for a lot of years but he was praying now in his mind. He hoped that Libertus would find the right road and spot them fast. He listened for the wind or for any signs of the ship. But, alas, there was none to come for their rescue. The wait brought back the worries that scratched in the corners of his brain.

He fought within himself.  Hope against the reality of what the bullet wound could bring. Memories of the other times he held her in his arms against the dread of what was to come.

He shook off all useless over thinking and talked instead.

“What do you want to do when we get back?”

He waited patiently.

Her voice was a tired whisper. “Pic… picnic.”

“In the garden?”

“N… No… Rooftop”

He remembered the rooftop at the palace where they have gazed at the stars other times before. He had always wanted to come back to that place with her.

“Alright.” he promised, swallowing the lump in his throat, “I’ll make some sandwiches, bring wine, put them all in a big basket. How’s that sound?”

Luna stayed motionless in his hold. Her arm around his neck had been long limped. And her breathing, much to his attention, sounded too weak. He tried not to panic and continued.

“And we’ll stay up all night… under the stars.”

He waited again – for any reaction. He pushed himself to be patient. Yet, his efforts were never rewarded.

“Luna?” he worried.

He moved his face closer to hers. His lips brushed her soft hair.

“Stay strong. Don’t sleep yet.” he whispered.

But instead of her voice, a sound of engine broke the silence. He felt the winds change. The aircraft approached. He tapped his earpiece.

“Libertus. Is that you coming? Can you see us?”

The speaker in his ear cracked a loud reply. “ _Yes! Stay where you are, we’re coming!_ ”

He exhaled in relief. “Princess, we’re here. We’re safe.”

No reply. Not even a weak moment of her cold fingers to react on the approaching ship. His heart sunk.

“Luna?” he pleaded.

As the sound of the ship grew louder, he kept calling her name - asking her to say anything.  _Anything_. But she wouldn’t. He dreaded the reason why.

Soon, hands reach them. The glaives. They took her from his arms. He couldn’t help but reach out when the weight was lifted off from him. He chased after her, wanting to keep her warm. But another set of hands found him. They pulled him closer and closer to the noise of the ship. The engine and the alarmed voices of his colleagues drowned everything. The smell of smoke lingered. He felt someone push him to safety.

He couldn’t see, hear, smell or touch what he sought.

There was nothing but the coldness and the dark. And the absence of her in his arms.

 

* * *

 

Nyx could only see black.

He hadn’t seen anything else for five days.

The beep signaled him to start. And he did. He moved as the sounds converged on him. He attacked unseen enemies. Fabrics that bleed sand. Ropes that made them move. But in his mind they weren’t made of those things. All he could feel was the blade piercing through metal, ripping them apart, shattering their soulless shells.

He killed them with a grudge.

The glaive only stopped when he couldn’t sense anything anymore. And when he did, he waited. Eventually, he realized that the alarm of the simulation’s finish had already been sounded long before he ended it. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he panted. His grip on the kukri remained tight. A slight tremble on his hand flowed through due to the lingering rage.

Quickly, he reached on his face to grab the blindfold that impaired his sight. But no, there wasn’t a cloth. He never needed it in the first place.

There was just the skin that was covered in scabs. And the eyes that moved but cannot see.

The doctors did what they could but he still ended up seeing nothing. Too much damage on the nerves and on the cornea, they said. Libertus, Crowe and Pelna could only hide their dismay behind encouraging words.

You’re still a glaive, they said.

However, the blindness wasn’t really the worse part. It was the memories of that day. He couldn’t shake off the feeling of her blood in his hand. Her cold fingers. Her breath at the edge of death.

Today, it all had been too much for him. So he asked Libertus to take him somewhere he could occupy his mind with something else. He expected his friend to take him out for drinks but, somehow, he ended up in here in the training hall.

Just keeping a blind man from getting too wasted early in the morning, the fellow Galahdian said before leaving him alone.

_That idiot._

Despite that, Nyx went with it anyway. Maybe his friend was right. Maybe he just needed to sweat it out instead of just wallowing in his self-reproach one bottle at a time.

Now, as his anger ebbed away, he just stared at the black – in a sense. The guilt was still there. He knew from experience that no amount of fighting could ever take it away. Finally, his hands grew tired, releasing the kukris to the gravity’s pull. He heard the metal bounce. It echoed throughout the room. When the sound died down, he just stood there motionless to drown in silence.

“That’s going to leave a mark on the floor.”

He turned around to her voice. The thumping of his chest quickened. His ears ached for more.

Her heels started tapping on the floor. The sound got closer and closer. He stayed put and fought the urge to reach out. His mind had played tricks before; he couldn’t afford to believe it now. But no. It wasn’t his brain fooling him. Because, as soon as the taps ended, he felt a warm palm on his chest.

He released out a breath of relief and weariness.

He could sense her moving closer, placing another hand high on the cheek, gently brushing on the scabs near his eye with her thumb.

She began to pray.

Remembering that she probably needed more time to recover from her wounds, he interrupted. “Wait.”

She stopped. “You need not to worry.”

“But it’s been just five days.” he stressed.

“Nyx, I’ve rested enough.”

“This can wait. You need to rest more.”

“I need you to  _see_!”

The stress in her voice made him hold down his reply. He didn’t like how she sounded in pain, so he reached out and tried to find her face. Her hand found his and she led it to her cheek. Her palm stayed on top of his as he felt the soft skin. 

She prayed and he stayed silent.

At the end of her utterance, he began to see a glow and eventually he saw her. Baby blues stare him expectantly. The blonde hair glowed under the light. She released a smile – half worried and half relieved. The image took his breath away. He had missed the sight of her. He missed it so much that he pulled her close and crashed his lips onto hers.

He closed his eyes as he slowly deepened the kiss. A moment of darkness, but he didn’t mind. Her arms embraced him. Her body leaned against his. And when they ended it to breathe, he opened his eyes again – seeing the stars on her own irises.

“How about we continue this tonight? That picnic on the rooftop?” He uttered, as his hands found her waist and her arms stayed rested around his neck.

She laughed. “Of course.”

His senses absorbed everything about this moment. The rosy cheeks. The sound of her laughter. The feel of her weight. The light casting their melded shadows on the floor. Taking note of these details, he had forgotten what it was like to be in the darkness. And he didn’t care about that.

All he cared about was that she was back in his arms.


End file.
